Allen James, 49, of Sanborn, competed as an Olympic racewalker in 1992 in Barcelona and four years later in Atlanta. His best finish was in ’96, when he placed 24th of 52 participants in a 50K (31-mile) event with a time of 4:01:18.

Today, he works for Toth’s Sports. He still walks three to six miles four times a week, and 12 to 16 miles Saturdays, when he gathers with runners at 8 a.m. at the warming house at Bond Lake Park in Lewiston.

Does doing all that walking allow you to eat more?

I like food but the older you get, even when you’re working out, your metabolism continues to slow, so you do have to watch what you eat. It’s awful. I work out hard, too, but I still like pizza.

What did you used to eat when you were training?

The myth is a lot of pasta and carbs. … It does provide complex sugar, but you have to do your proteins and your veggies, have a balanced diet. I don’t eat as much red meat as I used to.

Staples of your diet today?

Burritos, quesadillas, chicken, Mexican food. And pizza. We eat pizza once a week.

The food you can’t resist?

Don’t even make me say it. The other choice, the food that goes with pizza; that’d be the wings.